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The Hawaii posting is the worst I have seen. If I had an infestation that bad, I think I would have the boat tented and go home for a month. Living with gallons of roaches is way too much...
So far, good news.. I have been on roach safaris every night since I disinfected and poisoned the entire boat and nothing found!!! I understand the eggs last a while so this will continue. My fellow cruisers say that once the infestation is under control it is best to put boric acid down once a month for as long as you are in a climate where they may thrive. I guess that is everywhere but the arctic however I would not be shocked to see little arctic roaches..these buggers will survive all of us...

They are still discovering new species of cockroaches so you never know, there might just be Arctic roaches yet...

As part of a project for their high school science class, students Brenda Tan, 17, and Matt Cost, 18, may have discovered a new species of cockroach while collecting samples in a New York City supermarket.

The two teens were acting in their roles as "DNAHouse investigators", according to their supervisor Mark Stoeckle, an expert on genomics and DNA barcoding at Rockefeller University. Designed to teach young aspiring scientists more about genetic research, the project gives students the opportunity to use the Barcode of Life Database and GenBank to identify samples they collect themselves.

Of course, no one expected results quite so surprising.

"The cockroach is genetically modified. Species don't differ more than 1 percent, this cockroach is 4 percent different, which suggests it is a new species of cockroach," Stoeckle told AFP. "We think that the museums of natural history in Paris or New York could be interested."

And the cockroach was just one of many shocking samples the pair collected while wandering the streets and buildings of the Big Apple. All in all, the American Museum of Natural History laboratory identified 170 genetic codes from the samples collected by Tan and Cost, leading the researchers to identify 95 different animal species. Aside from the new roach, the pair's samples also yielded DNA from an ostrich, paddlefish, bison and even a giant flying squid.

It's a stark reminder of just how small the world really is. And while the origin of the new roach remains a mystery, there's a good chance that it was home grown. The environment of a big city like New York offers an ideal breeding ground for creepy crawlies of all sorts.

New Yorkers out there may want to think twice before lifting their foot to squash the next buggy invader. You might be squashing a brand new species!

01-05-2010 06:41 PM

Yorksailor

The Hawaii posting is the worst I have seen. If I had an infestation that bad, I think I would have the boat tented and go home for a month. Living with gallons of roaches is way too much...
So far, good news.. I have been on roach safaris every night since I disinfected and poisoned the entire boat and nothing found!!! I understand the eggs last a while so this will continue. My fellow cruisers say that once the infestation is under control it is best to put boric acid down once a month for as long as you are in a climate where they may thrive. I guess that is everywhere but the arctic however I would not be shocked to see little arctic roaches..these buggers will survive all of us...

01-05-2010 06:07 PM

night0wl

I know this isn't recent, but I got a hearty laugh out of the original post...especially for the the AYBABTU/Zerowing reference!

How are you gentlemen? MOVE ZIG!

01-05-2010 05:55 PM

tomwatt

Good luck. The one year I lived in Hawai'i, we set off insect bombs every Sunday morning on our way out the door for church, spent the rest of the day at the beach, and came home after sundown to sweep up a gallon of dead cockroaches - every week.
As the locals say... lucky you live Hawai'i.
I did have a couple of geckos that roamed the house (not pets, they just came in somehow, just like the cockroaches) and would chase down and eat the cockroaches. Maybe you could entice a few of those onboard?

12-28-2009 10:35 PM

smackdaddy

No - but that's freakin' hilarious. I think I've got a new name for my Mariachi band.

12-28-2009 10:15 PM

sww914

I've heard of a pesticide in Costa Rica called Chingaderos or Chingaderitos.
It means, roughly "little f***ers".
Has anyone seen this?

12-28-2009 09:26 PM

hellosailor

" They tell me the big ones fly on board. What to do????"

Hang up flypaper.

Meanwhile, you'd really have to be in a misbegotten excuse for a backwater shack if they didn't have some type of "fumigator" or "bug bomb" available. Hardware store, supermarket, exterminator supply...someone's got to carry them.

Or, if you know anyone stateside, have 'em ship a box of RAID brand fumigators (the smoke bombs, not the aerosols) usually about $15 for a 3-pack. If they get confiscated...not a major financial loss.

And think of something less dramatic than "POISON" to put on the customs' papers.

12-28-2009 05:51 PM

Yorksailor

I just saw my first roach and have attacked the bastards every way you mentioned in your battle plan except for the bombs which are not available in Grenada. I will attack and attack and attack until I get to the frozen North.
These bugs are creepy... I saw a huge cocroach (about two inches long) and killed it to DEATH. They tell me the big ones fly on board. What to do????
Our boat was in the yard in Grenada for 45 days getting work done and now this...If there is anything more I can do , please let me know.

11-05-2006 07:20 AM

JakeLevi

Boric acid is your best long term control, but a bomb every two weeks will prevent any hatchlings making more, in a couple months you should be clean, except for reinfection.

One thing that will help, NEVER bring provisions aboard in cardboard boxes, thats one major source of infections, PITA, but use plastic grocery bags. Only a little slower. Plus you can bag burnable trash in them to take to a dumpter.

Boric acid is super safe for you, deadly to roaches, it blocks their breathing. And as you say, its also good for wood. Its a win/win.

If you go cruising its good to have a couple bombs just in case. But never, ever, bring provisions aboard in cardboard boxes, you'll almost certainly be reinfecting your home.

Years ago I worked for a pet store chain, we were spending big money monthly to exterminators to keep our stores in malls clean. Then we found out the major item the exterminators used was boric acid, so we started doing it ourself and actually got better control as the store managers w ere very industrious at getting the powder in more dark places and cranies. I would use a bomb for a one time massive infestation, but long term boric acid is your best friend.

08-01-2006 10:58 AM

sailingdog

Yes, that is one reason I either leave the bimini up and deployed, so it doesn't have a nice hiding spot for the critters... or fold it and stow it below, in a closed off cabin.

He was very lucky that the bees were not not africanized and that they were not wasps or hornets. Non-africanized bees will rarely sting unless provoked, but wasps and hornets are just nasty...

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